The above print, William Hogarth - Beer Street, was originally 1751, from an engraving between 1806 and 1809 copied by Samuel Davenport from Hogarth's originals. This print seems to go well with this entry as it reflects the true beginning of brewing beer.

Many people may wonder how I got started in this hobby. As early as 2004, I was reading "Homebrewing for Dummies". That is an excellent starter book. I was debating on whether I wanted to start this as another one of my hobbies. My problems with this pastime: it looked like it took an overwhelming number of steps to follow through with and there was the question as to whether the temperature was right in the house for brewing. I found out this is easier to regulate than I thought. If you live in house with a basement you might have a temperature of about 55 to 60 degrees (Fahrenheit) to do lager beers. If you live in an apartment 68 to 70 degrees will help you produce ale beers. Our house seems to be ideal to do ales in all months except for Summer where the house hits 74 degrees upstairs. Lagers should be good year round in the colder part of our basement. I have come to question that if I produce beer at 60 degrees, in the basement room of our furnace, what is it? Is it a lager or an ale?

My first real plunge into brewing was a Mr. Beer kit about 2012. I'm not sure when, but it was about 2 - 3 years ago. It was a simple kit and took about 2 hours to make a California Common. California Common is the common American ale sold by the major beer companies. I then forgot about it and decided to return to try grain brewing this year. I had purchased 2 more beer kits: Craft - A - Brew and the Beer Making Kit. I got one kit on sale and the other I got after Christmas drastically reduced. I was really amazed you don't need to prove your age to get these kits! It is really just ingredients of hops, malt powders or grain and a yeast packet. There is never the finished beer product inside as you have to create it.

I added to my knowledge last year when I checked out all the beer brewing books from the library. I compiled all the books' information. This information was used to make my standard operating procedures of brewing. It may be used in my future book, "Let's Make Beer! A Comprehensive Guide To Homebrewing"